How to make the most of ingredients lurking in your cupboard

Juniper berries

Typical uses:

Juniper berries have a bitter sweet, pine flavour with a peppery aftertaste. The berries are famously used as a flavouring agent in gin and luncheon meats. Northern France, Germany and Scandanavia use juniper berries in everyday cooking. Sauerkraut is traditionally flavoured with Juniper.

 Health benefits:

Contemporary herbalists use juniper berries to treat bladder infections.

It is also believed to be a diuretic and anti-inflammatory.

Ways of using up the juniper berries in your cupboard

Lightly crush the berries and add to enrich beef, pork stews and casseroles.  

 
Allspice

Typical uses:

Allspice is the dried, unripe berry of a tree indigenous to the Caribbean and Central America. As its name implies it tastes of a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Dried allspice berries resemble large brown peppercorns. Allspice complements beef, pork, chicken, fish, stewed fruit, cakes and biscuits.

Health benefits

Because of its eugenol content, allspice has properties similar to clove. The tannins in allspice provide a mild anesthetic that, with its warming effect, make it a popular home remedy for arthritis and sore muscles, used either as a poultice or in hot baths.

Ways of using up the allspice in your cupboard

Tastes great sprinkled on gammon and pork steaks, just mix with orange juice, a little honey or brown sugar and a drop of vegetable oil and liberally brush on before grilling.

Sprinkle into beef or lamb casseroles for an extra warming flavour.

Stir into fruit salad or stewed fruit for extra flavour. It can be used in the preparation of apple pie spice.

Sichuan pepper

Typical uses:

Sichuan peppercorns do not belong to the same family as Western black and white peppercorns. It’s a major condiment in Chinese cooking with a spicy woody aroma and a numbing taste.

Health benefits:

The spice is recommended for treating certain gastro-urinary disorders.

Ways of using up the sichuan pepper in your cupboard

The berries should be gently roasted to release their aromatic oils before crushing with a mortar and pestle or an electric coffee grinder. If a fine powder is desired, sieve to remove the husks and stalks. Used in making Chinese Five spice powder and cooked with chicken or duck used to make noodle dishes and soups mildly hot and fragrant.

Caraway seed

Typical uses:

Caraway Seed has a warm, pungent, slightly bitter flavour with aniseed overtones. Caraway is popular in central European and Jewish cooking and compliments cabbage, potatoes, onion, carrots, coleslaw, sauerkraut, pork, goulash, dumplings, cheese, pickles, cakes, biscuits and rye bread. Dutch caraway seeds are regarded as the best.

Health benefits:

Caraway seeds aid digestion. Eaten after a meal, caraway seeds are a great way to freshen the breath. The oil is used in mouthwashes and after shave lotions.

Ways of using up the caraway seed in your cupboard

Spice up cabbage by adding a sprinkling of lightly roasted caraway seeds on top or stir into soups.

Asafoetida

Typical uses:

Extremely popular in Indian vegetarian cooking, asafoetida is a dried resin that comes from a species of giant fennel. The aroma is very pungent and strong with a bitter and acrid taste but when released in hot oil gives out the flavour of onions and garlic

Health benefits

It is said to reduce flatulence particularly caused by the digestion of beans and lentils and is known to be prescribed for respiratory problems such as whooping cough and asthma.

Ways of using up the asafoetida in your cupboard

The powerful aroma compliments most lentils and vegetables. A tiny pinch added to hot oil before the addition of the other ingredients is enough to flavour a dish for four people.

Coriander seed

Typical uses:

Used in cooking all over the world, coriander seeds are entirely different in taste and smell to the leaves. The seeds possess a sweet and heady aroma with a hint of pepper. Every Indian household uses coriander in everyday savoury dishes. It is also one of the essential ingredients for the hot spice mixture known as Garam Masala.

Health benefits:

Coriander seeds have antibacterial properties and are used in treatments for neuralgia and rheumatism. Before toothpaste, coriander seeds were chewed to sweeten the breath.

Ways of using up the coriander seeds in your cupboard

Gently roast the seeds and then grind in a pestle and mortar or an electric coffee grinder. Add the freshly ground coriander to sauces or sprinkle over steamed vegetables just before serving.